Tactile Enrichment フィジェットトイ by Ruoyou Zhou

Tactile Enrichment フィジェットトイ by Ruoyou Zhou is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2026 A' Design Award 鉄賞 in 玩具・ゲーム・ホビー製品デザイン Competition Category.

鉄玩具· 2026

Tactile Enrichment フィジェットトイ

by Ruoyou Zhou

Client: Ruoyou Zhou

A' Design Award 鉄賞 Winner in 玩具 Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Tactile Enrichment フィジェットトイ

「Tactile Enrichment(触覚の充実)」は、触覚に焦点を当てたフィジェットトイのシリーズです。本シリーズは、それぞれ50×50×50ミリメートルの5つのキューブで構成されています。各キューブは、陶土、革、金属、木材、布という単一の素材から作られています。5つすべてのキューブに同じ立体的なパターンが施されているため、素材ごとの違いを手で感じ取ることができます。それぞれの素材は重さ、温度、香りが異なります。目が他の作業に向けられ、手が空いているときに、キューブを握ったり触って遊んだりすることができます。視覚への依存を減らし、日常の体験のなかで触覚により大きな役割を与えることを意図しています。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 鉄賞

Tactile Enrichment フィジェットトイは、よく設計された創造物に期待される専門的・産業的要件を満たす優れたデザインに授与される、権威ある評価である A' Design Award 鉄賞の受賞作品です。鉄賞の受賞作品は、制作者の高い技量、高度な専門性、専門家としての理解、創造的な能力を示しています。Tactile Enrichment フィジェットトイは、高く評価され、称賛され、愛される、実用的で革新的な創造物であることが期待されます。この A' Design Award 鉄賞を受賞したデザインは、業界のベストプラクティスを統合し、ノウハウと才能に結びついた有能な技術的特性を備えています。Tactile Enrichment フィジェットトイは、その徹底ぶりで尊敬され、世界をより良い場所にするための生活の質の向上をもたらすよう設計されています。

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: We understand the world through our five senses, receiving emotions and information every day. This project is a series of fidget toys that rethink our sensory habits, which often rely too much on vision. It shifts the focus to touch. The same pattern is made from different materials, allowing users to feel variations in texture and resistance with their hands. By reducing visual input, the work highlights how touch and other senses can become the main source of experience and emotion.
Dimensions & Packaging: 50 × 50 × 50 mm .five pieces.
Tags: Fidget toy, Without Visual Dependence, Touch, Smell, Series, Mixed materials, Toy, Playful
Production Technology: Five materials were used, clay, leather, metal, wood, and fabric. Three dimensional textures were shaped into each material. Then the materials were cut into small pieces and attached to the cube. This required constant checking to ensure every piece fit perfectly after assembly. Each cube has six sides, and I made five cubes in total, like completing a 120 piece collage puzzle in different materials.
Design Challenge: The biggest challenge was repetitive work and making sure every piece fit perfectly. To avoid gaps after assembly, each material piece had to be sanded by hand. For the metal cube, thin and hard stainless steel was used. After many trials, I chose laser cutting to shape the pieces, then filled the gaps with putty and finished with spray paint. The most enjoyable process was sewing the leather cube, marking, punching holes, stitching, and tying the thread. I truly enjoyed each step.
Research: This project explores tactile experience without relying on sight. About 83 percent of the information we receive comes from vision. When reliance on vision is reduced, the other senses become stronger and more memorable. At the exhibition, visitors could freely touch and play with the objects and write down their thoughts on each material. The interactive display received positive feedback, as interaction is part of the research and the work serves as a bridge between me and the audience.
Inspiration: In daily life, we often play with small objects to ease anxiety or boredom, clicking a pen or turning keys in our hands. Fidget toys were created from this behavior. Based on this and my research on the five senses, I designed this series using different materials to explore new possibilities. Enrichment in animal care means providing toys or spaces to reduce stress and improve well being. As humans living in concrete cities, we also face stress. This design asks whether we also need enrichment.
Project Duration: In April 2023, I began researching the five senses, touch, sight, hearing, taste, and smell. In July 2024, I focused on the relationship between objects, people, and interaction. By July 2025, I was testing materials and making prototypes, selecting five for further development. Fabrication began in November 2025. The work was completed in February 2026 and presented at the 2026 graduation exhibition of Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts.
Operation Flow: These objects can be held and played with while watching TV, talking, or even during meetings under the table, any moment when the eyes are busy but the hands are free. The key idea is to enrich touch without relying on vision. Each material has a different weight, temperature, and even smell. Even with the same pattern, different materials create completely different tactile experiences.